Erik Ten Hag’s First Realization Manchester United Came on a Wednesday night at Old Trafford.
His players worked in synchrony buzz to be completely in control Tottenham Hotspur A hint at the possibility of the future.
United defended and attacked en masse, lunged at the back, pressed high up front, and the atmosphere in the crowd blossomed. Every key moment on the pitch elicited an uncanny response in the stands and that energy seemed to be transmitted as if by osmosis to the calf muscles of Team Ten Hag.
in the 91st minute, Look Show Bulldozers in a 50-50 challenge for Lucas MouraHe won the ball and dribbled the touchline. Mora came nine minutes early, but looked more tired than the two men.
Antonio Conte oversaw Tottenham’s best ever start in Premier League Season But United’s performance last night exhausted their target. “We have to be honest; United decided to win,” Conte said somewhat gently.
United took over their role as champions.
“I told the boys in the dressing room, ‘It was really fun to watch,'” Tin Hag said.
There was a lot to admire, but here are the aspects of the exciting show that caught the eye the most.
attack intent
United scored 19 shots in the first 45 minutes, the most by any team in the Premier League this season. Fourteen of them were from outside the box, the highest first-half total since Opta began keeping records in 2003-04. By the end of the game, they had taken 28 shots, the most by any team in the Premier League this season. The previous highest number for United was 17 against Brighton. They reached that total after half an hour against Spurs.
Five players from United had more shots than Harry KingThe three major Spurs. Bruno FernandezAnd the Unique (both are six), AnthonyAnd the Diogo Dalot And the Marcus Rashford (the four).
Rashford had the best conversion rate, with three of his shots on target and saving very well Hugo Lloris. Thierry Henry defended his brilliant finishing touch on Rashford’s choice of strength, and it’s something the striker should consider.
The overall volume of shots kept pressure on Spurs, forcing corner kicks and keeping Lloris and the backline thinking about defense rather than starting attacks.
Brazil bromance
This match was to confirm that, against some opponents, the citizens of Fred and Casemiro He can make a massive double action in midfield.
Fred was the surprise number who held his place from the weekend predicament Newcastle with Scott McTominay And the Christian Eriksen Once again, however, Ten Hag’s belief was rewarded with his best match of his four years at United.
As shown in the stadium map below, which shows average player positions at night, Fred (#17) worked roughly alongside Fernandes (#8) as an advanced destroyer, causing havoc as the Spurs attempted to build.
Meanwhile, Casemiro put on an almost complete show in a sitting role.
Show his physicality, sense danger and intelligently keep possession. His powerful first passes to Anthony turned the defense into an attack for a Fernandes goal that doubled the lead.
The standing ovation he received on his exit for Eriksen in the 87th minute marked a key moment.
Bruno’s back
Fernandes has been under scrutiny for his recent performances, but Ten Hag launched a tough defense of his captain in the pre-match press conference.
“He plays a huge role in a lot of moments for us in the building, the creativity and the movement, but also the transition; both sides,” said the United manager.
This was a show to confirm Tin Hag’s assessment.
Bruno Fernandes capped an impressive display against Tottenham with a goal (Photo: Ole Scarfe/AFP via Getty Images)
Fernandes has created nine chances, the most in a Premier League game since September last year, and despite his risk-taking, he has a pass success rate of 92.65 per cent: well above what is typical for him.
He scored a great goal of course, but helping him out on the ugly side of the game was just as important.
In Fred’s opening match, Fernandes set out to track Son Heung Min afterwards Lisandro MartinezA lost pass and later in the same section of play, was intercepted Eric Dyerball in front of Pierre-Emile Hojberg To help create the opportunity.
Fernandez took charge.
Defensive toughness
This was the fifth clean sheet in eight games for Martinez and Raphael Varane, with six wins in that period. They fit well.
He followed Varane Kane all the way to defensive third place for Tottenham at one point in the match and was so relieved that Martinez would have covered it. The Argentine is watching closely England A mid-range captain, he jumped to claim the ball midway just before the break as Kane tried to turn around.
The defenders brought protection on both sides. Shaw and Dalot were both excellent. Shaw won seven and lost three duels, and Dalot’s numbers were five and two – only Martinez (also five and two) could rival these proportions among the match’s defenders.
Shaw and Dalot were also more involved with each other than before, as shown in the passing maps below: one from the match against Newcastle (left) and one from Tottenham (right). Shaw’s passes to Dalot are shown in blue, while the latter’s passes to his teammate at left-back are in red.
Last night, Dalot fired three long passes to Shaw at different times when Spurs tried to put pressure on the right, which immediately eased the situation. Another Shaw cross in the area almost made a great goal. These connections show from right to left and vice versa the overall team cohesion.
behind the back line David de Gea He came out of his territory to better effect than before.
When Fernandez scored a goal, Martinez jumped into Shaw’s arms and then hugged the duo Varane and Casemiro.
The spirit was clear.
No Ronaldo
Tin Hag said he would deal “tomorrow” with Cristiano Ronaldo, an unused substitute, walks into the tunnel 90 minutes before the clock, then leaves the field as the match continues. The coach’s focus on those who played last night makes sense.
However, I felt he was making a point by not bringing in Ronaldo. Ten Hag showed that he could win comfortably and better even without the man who was United’s top scorer last season with 18 out of 57 goals in the Premier League.
go deeper
Cristiano Ronaldo left Old Trafford before the final whistle
Ten Hag’s response to Rashford was: “Against Tottenham, you need good pressure because from there, you can create chances. Wise attack, you need dynamism. That’s what Marcus brings. I’ve seen that against Newcastle in the last 20 minutes; more space.”
He added: “Eleven players defend, 11 players attack. I am happy with that.
I wouldn’t say I’m completely satisfied. Good is not good enough. That should be the norm here.”
(top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
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